A Day At The Zoo
by Black Clouds
Summary: Someone has let loose the entire zoo. Gina gives her commands but gets the most help, suprisingly enough, from Honey Harmon.


She may not be the sharpest pencil in the box but she knows a lot more than we give her credit for. We all know not to judge a book it's cover but it's such a hard thing _not _to do in her case…she's blonde and has a name which makes you think she belongs in the porn business but that doesn't instantly mean she's a bimbo , as I and the rest of B-Relief at SunHill station soon found out. I loved that day, our faces must have been a picture, each and every one of us surprised by what she had to say, she even proved to be an asset to CID and that's something which uniform are hardly ever considered. Honey Harmon certainly had a different impact on our lives than first anticipated. 

Reginald Hollis had, as usual, his head buried in some book from which he would learn useless facts to spout out to the rest of us. I tried to avoid him like the plague but that plan in itself was useless, he was eagle eyed, didn't miss trick, did our Reg. I entered the room in hope of finding Sheelagh but got caught up in what Reginald was reading, a zoology book. He said he wanted to learn more about snakes as he was thinking of buying his sister one for her birthday, I thought that was really sweet of him, really considerate so I let him in on a little secret. I told him about the time my dad had gotten me this exceptionally rare snake, I thought it repugnant to begin with but I warmed and eventually fell in love with it. Pacific Gopher Snake, that was it's name. It was of the melanoleucus catenifer species, had golden and red skin and my dad liked it because it finished off all of the rodents that ran around his brothers farm. You see, he really bought it so my Uncle could use it but he couldn't stand to be near the thing, not that he never let on. I did still get to have it as a pet which kept me a contented child. I suggested to Reg that he try and get his hands on a Brown House Snake, they weren't endangered and it had even been said to be a great helper of humans, in what way I could not remember, but Reg didn't care, he was already captivated by what I had told him.. When we finally stopped talking I couldn't believe how long I had managed to hold up a conversation with the most boring copper in SunHill, possibly on the planet. It had been fun though and I'm pretty sure Reg hadn't expected me to know anything that could be of use to him.

If you think me and Hollis getting along is weird, wait until you hear what happened next! I got a call through from 149 otherwise known as PC Gary Best and he seemed to be in trouble, under some sort of attack only he claimed it not to be a man or even a women but a wild dog…a wolf. I did all I could to hide my amusement, surely he wasn't telling the truth? It wasn't that I doubted his account of what had gone on exactly but I wondered if perhaps a little exaggeration was afoot…then it happened. Ruby burst through the doors, yammering like crazy, but I did eventually got from her what she was sent to tell me. Gary Best had, in fact, gotten it right. I radioed through to him straight away, if he was still fit to work he should return to the station as soon as possible to be seen by the FME, otherwise I would expect to hear from him once an examination was done at St Hugh's. Following that I ordered that every available officer be gathered in the canteen for an emergency briefing, immediate action was needed and I, as per usual, would be the one who organised everything!

"Right!", my voice wasn't the loudest due to years of smoking but my stripes still got me the respect I deserved. Everyone's conversation's ended and the general bustle was brought to a halt, "I'm sure word has spread as it always does but in case one or two of you are unaware of what this meeting is in aid of, you will be surprised to find that it is about the animals which are running rampant around our patch! I'm not completely sure what has gone on but what I do know for sure is that action needs to be taken now…the public need us to be out there, they need to know we are on hand, helping in any way we can, just as the ambulances and fire brigades will be. All of these animals come from the local zoo where they have been purposely set free from, the tree huggers managed to wangle their way into the system going as high up as management and that is how they accomplished what you would imagine to be a virtually impossible task! They used the trucks which they had easy access to, to ship some onto the street during the night but the larger mammals gates and such were simply opened and we can only assume that they managed to coax them out. We have absolutely no description of the people who are responsible but as of now that is not our number one priority, I want you sorted into groups no smaller then four but no larger than eight and I will see every single one of you in the front yard come seven o'clock. Understood?"

I watched them file out, stifling their laughter as I had done only fifteen minutes before. Having been called to the Superintendents office I had less than ten minutes to get up there, get back down and get to the bloody yard. Okaro rattled on about keeping officers safe and only entering situations when I had conformation I would not be endangering anyone, of course, had he not said any of these things I would have sent my team out to be eaten by tigers and myself, well, I would have made sure it was the elephant that squished me or maybe I would have went swimming with the alligators…I swear that man must think I'm an idiot.

I slipped into my office on the out of the building, if I was going to need a swig of brandy during the shift I wouldn't have a chance in hell of getting back to the nick so I pocketed the bottle after taking a sip…or two, okay a gulp…or two. Hell I downed the blasted liquid but it kept my nerves steady and that's what was important. 

In the yard I found everyone correct and present, even the unfortunate PC Best had arrived and was ready for action. I got the impression he wanted to hunt down the supposed wolf that had attacked him but I made sure what the aim of the day was, to collect any smaller animals they came across and return them to their rightful home where staff from another city zoo were waiting to identify the creatures. If they did find themselves in the path of a larger and undoubtedly more dangerous beast then they were to radio it in immediately and one of the range rovers (in which sat zoo careers and tranquilliser guns) would rush to their assistance. 

"Everyone ready?", a collective 'yes' was the reply I received. I sent them on their way, some in vans, some in cars but none on foot. I would be going through the exact same procedure in a moment with CID and CSU, all hands were needed but I had serious doubt as to whether June Ackland and her flying monkeys would be up to the job. However, if I did get partnered with that lot then at least I could have the fun of watching June be devoured by a cougar…or three.


End file.
